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http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-rendellgun1116,0,722039.story?coll=all_tab01_layout
Rendell: Time for tougher gun laws Governor, angered by Philly violence, urges House to act. By John L. Micek |Call Harrisburg Bureau9:31 PM EST, November 16, 2007
HARRISBURG - Red-faced and through clenched teeth, Gov. Ed Rendell on Friday decried the epidemic of gun violence sweeping Philadelphia and called on state House lawmakers to swiftly pass stalled gun control legislation.
"We have a problem. Houston, we have a problem. And we'd better do something about it," Rendell said, swatting his lectern.
As of Thursday, 353 Philadelphia residents had lost their lives to gun violence this yearRendell's public display of anger came just a few days before he is to address the House Judiciary Committee on three bills he says would help reduce gun violence.
At Rendell's request, Judiciary Committee Chairman Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, will bring up the bills for a vote Tuesday after the governor speaks.
Rendell told reporters Friday he knows he's putting his prestige on the line by appearing before the committee. He said Caltagirone had even tried to warn him off because a successful vote isn't guaranteed.
"This is not a game. It doesn't matter if I succeed or fail [politically]," he said. "But it does matter to the people in blue."
Rendell renewed his call for tougher gun laws last week after a string of police shootings in his hometown of Philadelphia. One was fatal -- officer Chuck Cassidy was shot in the head when he walked in on a doughnut shop robbery on Oct. 31 and died the next day.
The suspect in Cassidy's shooting, John Lewis, 21, of Philadelphia, has been held in Lehigh County Prison since last Saturday.
Rendell has been pushing since the beginning of his administration to curb gun violence in the state, with little success. Similar versions of all three bills were rejected by lawmakers during the last legislative session.
Rendell and mayors from across the state, including Allentown's Ed Pawlowski, have said the proposals would help take the guns out of the hands of criminals.
But opponents, including the National Rifle Association, have argued that tougher enforcement of existing laws, not new ones, would help staunch the bloodshed. Rendell rejected that argument Friday.
"Don't tell me that enforcement is the root of the problem," he growled. "That's just propaganda that's untrue. Our prisons are bulging."
One of the bills before the Judiciary Committee would require gun owners to report lost and stolen weapons and create a state police database to track them. Panel members defeated it on a 17-11 vote last fall, with the support of five of Rendell's fellow Democrats.
Another bill would limit state residents to the purchase of one handgun per month.
The third would allow Philadelphia and other counties and municipalities to write their own gun laws -- if local voters approve. Now, only the Legislature can write those laws.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-rendellgun1116,0,722039.story?coll=all_tab01_layout
Rendell: Time for tougher gun laws Governor, angered by Philly violence, urges House to act. By John L. Micek |Call Harrisburg Bureau9:31 PM EST, November 16, 2007
HARRISBURG - Red-faced and through clenched teeth, Gov. Ed Rendell on Friday decried the epidemic of gun violence sweeping Philadelphia and called on state House lawmakers to swiftly pass stalled gun control legislation.
"We have a problem. Houston, we have a problem. And we'd better do something about it," Rendell said, swatting his lectern.
As of Thursday, 353 Philadelphia residents had lost their lives to gun violence this yearRendell's public display of anger came just a few days before he is to address the House Judiciary Committee on three bills he says would help reduce gun violence.
At Rendell's request, Judiciary Committee Chairman Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, will bring up the bills for a vote Tuesday after the governor speaks.
Rendell told reporters Friday he knows he's putting his prestige on the line by appearing before the committee. He said Caltagirone had even tried to warn him off because a successful vote isn't guaranteed.
"This is not a game. It doesn't matter if I succeed or fail [politically]," he said. "But it does matter to the people in blue."
Rendell renewed his call for tougher gun laws last week after a string of police shootings in his hometown of Philadelphia. One was fatal -- officer Chuck Cassidy was shot in the head when he walked in on a doughnut shop robbery on Oct. 31 and died the next day.
The suspect in Cassidy's shooting, John Lewis, 21, of Philadelphia, has been held in Lehigh County Prison since last Saturday.
Rendell has been pushing since the beginning of his administration to curb gun violence in the state, with little success. Similar versions of all three bills were rejected by lawmakers during the last legislative session.
Rendell and mayors from across the state, including Allentown's Ed Pawlowski, have said the proposals would help take the guns out of the hands of criminals.
But opponents, including the National Rifle Association, have argued that tougher enforcement of existing laws, not new ones, would help staunch the bloodshed. Rendell rejected that argument Friday.
"Don't tell me that enforcement is the root of the problem," he growled. "That's just propaganda that's untrue. Our prisons are bulging."
One of the bills before the Judiciary Committee would require gun owners to report lost and stolen weapons and create a state police database to track them. Panel members defeated it on a 17-11 vote last fall, with the support of five of Rendell's fellow Democrats.
Another bill would limit state residents to the purchase of one handgun per month.
The third would allow Philadelphia and other counties and municipalities to write their own gun laws -- if local voters approve. Now, only the Legislature can write those laws.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
